An "unprecedented" year with the global collapse in air travel has seen engine maker Rolls-Royce report a massive loss.

Rolls-Royce, which has a base in Barnwood, plunged from a profit of £583million in the previous year to a pre-tax loss of £3.95billion.

The biggest hit came in the civil aerospace division which saw a loss of £2.57billion.

The defence arm of the company posted a profit of £448million with power systems making £178million.

Chief executive Warren East described 2020 as an "unprecedented year".

He said: "The impact of the Covid-19 pandemic was felt most acutely by our civil aerospace business.

"We took immediate actions to address our cost base, launching the largest restructuring in our recent history, consolidating our global manufacturing footprint and delivering significant cost reduction measures."

The restructuring includes cutting up to 9,000 jobs globally.

Rolls-Royce expects large engine flying hours to increase to around 55 per cent of 2019 levels this year with an acceleration during the year, reaching 80 per cent in 2022.

But it forecasts that large engine deliveries will remain at lower levels for a few years.